2010/11 Season on The Blue Line

[archibalduk]

The 2010/11 hockey season is now well under way and so it seems like a good time to update everybody on what's going on at The Blue Line in its seventh season:


New look TBL
If you haven't visited us in a while then you may not know that back in May we completely redesigned the site. We now have a fresher look with easier navigation and brand new features. New features include little things such as multi-quoting, Facebook integration and bigger things such as better blogs, facepack ageing tool, a user GM Challenge career history and profile, and a much better trophy and Hall of Fame system. Further detail can be found here: http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/forums/vi ... 9175#99175

We are looking at further developing and improving the site and new features will be coming in the not too distant future. Several significant Moderator-related features have recently been added. This will help make running the site that much easier. Some general polishing of the site is now taking place and then some new features will be added. This will include new pages for DMHNL, a new header and navigation, a new home page design, and improved design of some of the Challenge pages.


Challenge 18 and the Challenge Stats Upload Tool
Competing in the Challenges just got a whole lot easier! With the introduction of the Challenge Stats Upload Tool there is no longer the need to use a spreadsheet or post your stats in a thread. Instead, users are now able to enter their stats directly into a page on TBL. The page automatically calculates your stats for each quarter and enters them directly into the site. Your stats are instantly visible online!

To help you keep track of the Challenges, there is a live standings table and a count down timer showing exactly how long until the Challenge closes: http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=20

Challenge 18 (Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the QMJHL) started on 30 August and is still open for users to join in. We'll be keeping this Challenge open until the Lidas Rosters 2010/11 are released (see below for more info about the rosters).

More info about joining the Challenge and using the Challenge Upload Tool can be found here: http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/forums/vi ... php?t=5794


Lidas Rosters 2010/11 v3.0
Owing to pressing personal commitments, Lidas has decided to step back from his annual EHM roster project. However, Manimal has volunteered to carry on Lidas' fantastic work and continue to develop and release the annual roster update (along with mid season updates). Manimal has been heavily involved with the project for some time and so we know that we'll be seeing the same quality roster update as Lidas has released in the past.

Manimal is currently putting the finishing touches on the first 2010/11 release as we speak. It is hoped that the rosters will be released at some point in November (but clearly we can't give a 100% guarantee of a November release as these things can always be subject to delay): http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/forums/vi ... 218#107218


DMHNL Online EHM League
The Blue Line and DMHNL have been working in partnership for quite some time now. Initially this was just a link-up between the two sites. Owing to the great benefits that this link-up has brought for both TBL and DMHNL, DMHNL moved its forums into TBL in July. Now sharing the same home, TBL and DMHNL are working in full partnership to keep the EHM community going and to provide the best online EHM experience possible. This has resulted in a range of new features for the DMHNL such as a Hall of Fame and trophies. In the near future the DMHNL will have its own news page/portal within TBL as well as an RSS feed which users may add to their browser.

Owing to the increase in interest in DMHNL, a second DMHNL league has been created. This means that we now have capacity for 57 GMs! Demand for both leagues is high but there are a couple of places left. If you want to register your interest then please visit here: http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/forums/vi ... php?t=5553

The DMHNL leagues will be operating a promotion/relegation system whereby users will have the opportunity to join the 'A' League if they do well enough in the 'B' league.


Hockey Management Projects: Possible Future EHM Successors
TBL is proud to be the home of two community-based projects looking to create a successor to the Eastside Hockey Manager series of games. Since the SI Games stopped developing EHM in January 2007 there has not been anything like it since. Two projects have been started in order to fill this gap: Dabo Hockey Manager and Ultimate Hockey Simulator.

Both projects are in their early stages but both are developing steadily. Both projects are very keen to hear the views of the community and there has been plenty of feedback and offers of help. There is a real buzz around both projects and we really hope that at least one of them gets of the ground. Both projects looking for help researching players, teams, cities, etc and any help you may be able to offer would be very gratefully received (see links below).

Dabo Hockey Manager: http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/forums/vi ... php?t=5487
Ultimate Hockey Simulator: http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/forums/vi ... php?t=5860

Of course there is no guarantee of whether these games will see the light of day but they're our best shots at finding a successor. The developers of each project are extremely enthusiastic and they are receiving plenty of support from the community - so hopefully this will help see some success with either or both projects.

Another project of note is Face Off Hockey 2010 by Wolverine Studios. Currently this is just a single season sim but the developer hopes that an EHM-style career will be added in the near future. More information can be found here: http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/forums/vi ... php?t=5965


Prediction League 2010/11
The Prediction League is back for 2010/11! Only two weeks of games have passed and so it's not too late to join. This season we have introduced a weekly wildcard game in addition to the usual NHL games. For the first half of the season the wildcard teams are Red Deer Rebels and Skellefteå AIK. More info can be found here: http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/forums/vi ... php?t=5956


Staying Up To Date With TBL
In addition to our RSS feeds, you can now keep up to date with TBL via Facebook and Twitter (see links below). You can also find a news archive here: http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=23

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=51509311047
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/#!/ehmtheblueline

RSS (Latest News): http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/forums/rss.php?f=23
RSS (Latest Forum Posts): http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/forums/rss.php
RSS (Latest Downloads): http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/forums/rdf_files.php